On Monday 80 per cent of Ebola contacts - people at risk of developing the disease who require monitoring - could not be reached

By Lizzie Parry, Digital Health Editor

25th September 2018, 3:11 pm

Updated: 25th September 2018, 3:11 pm

AN OUTBREAK of Ebola in Congo could "deteriorate rapidly", health chiefs have warned today.

Attacks by armed groups in the affected area, community resistance and the geographic spread of the disease threatens a "perfect storm", that could see the highly contagious virus spread out of control.

A health worker spaying disinfectant on one of her colleagues. Some 80 per cent of those who need monitoring for Ebola cannot currently be contact by authorities

Since the latest outbreak in Congo was reported on August 1, there have been 100 deaths - 69 confirmed as being due to Ebola, while the reminder are thought to be linked to the deadly virus.

The World Health Organisation said there have been 150 cases in total.

“We are now extremely concerned that several factors may be coming together over the next weeks and months to create a potential perfect storm,” WHO's head of emergency response Peter Salama told a news conference in Geneva.

The Ebola virus came to the world's attention in 2014-15 when it claimed more than 11,000 lives when it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia

While the weekly number of new cases has fallen from about 40 to about 10 in the past few weeks, and more than 11,700 people have been vaccinated, there were major obstacles ahead Salama said.

On Monday 80 per cent of Ebola contacts - people at risk of developing the disease who require monitoring - and three suspected cases could not be reached for disease monitoring.

Pockets of “reluctance, refusal and resistance” to accept Ebola vaccination were generating many of the new cases, Salama said.

“We also see a very concerning trend,” he said.

“That resistance, driven by quite natural fear of this terrifying disease, is starting to be exploited by local politicians, and we're very concerned in the run up to elections, projected for December, that that exploitation... will gather momentum and make it very difficult to root out the last cases of Ebola.”

Authorities in the Congo are well equipped to handle an Ebola outbreak, but surrounding countries may struggle should an outbreak spread

The West African outbreak was so destructive, because it reached large urban areas - and it was the first major outbreak in the area, meaning the authorities weren't prepared, or equipped to deal with it.

Meanwhile, in Democratic Republic of Congo the authorities are more familiar with the virus.

It was first discovered in 1976, in Yambuku, Zaire - now DRC. The outbreak was in a village on the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.

Since then there have been more than ten outbreaks in the country, the latest reported on August 1.

KILLER VIRUS: What is Ebola?

The Ebola virus, also known as Ebola virus disease - previously called Ebola haemorrhagic fever - is a disease that occurs in humans and primates.

The virus is part of the Filoviridae family, which also includes Marburg virus.

To date, scientists have identified five strains of Ebola - four of which are known to cause disease in humans.

The natural reservoir - or host of the virus - is thought to be the fruit bat.

Non-human primates are a secondary host, and like humans develop fatal symptoms, so are unlikely to be the reservoir.

In spite of the epidemic that swept West Africa from 2013 to 2015, scientists class Ebola as a virus that has a relatively low infection rate.

During that, the most recent and most widespread outbreak, one Ebola patient would typically pass the disease on to another two people.

That is compared with a disease like measles where one case can often lead to 18 new infections.

Four people in Congo tested positive for Ebola just days after a new species was discovered.

A team of 12 experts from Congo's health ministry were sent to the nearby city of Beni to set up a mobile lab, the ministry said.

But the region has deep security problems, which could complicate efforts to contain the virus, health officials said at the time.

About 1,000 civilians have been killed by armed groups and government soldiers around Beni since 2014, and the wider region of North Kivu holds over 1 million displaced people.

Now, some people were fleeing into the forest to escape Ebola follow-up treatment and checks, sometimes moving hundreds of kilometres, Salama said.

MORE ON EBOLA

KILLER VIRUS

What is Ebola, has there been an outbreak in 2019 and is there a vaccine?

KILLER VIRUS

Ebola outbreak ravages Congo as second epidemic kills 484 people

PLAGUE PANIC

Ebola-style virus found in Chinese bats sparks fears it could spread to humans

GLOBAL FEAR

EBOLA ALERT

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

Danger maps reveal where next major health pandemic like Ebola, HIV or flu is likely to break out

Exclusive

ALARM BELLS?

One man confirmed dead in the Congo. His taxi driver and carer dead. Ebola is back but should the world worry?

Ebola prevention work has been suspended in the city of Beni after a rebel attack, making the area inaccessible for security reasons.

Neighbouring Uganda was now facing an “imminent threat”.

Social media posts criticising the Democratic Republic of Congo government and the United Nations and “a range of conspiracy theories” were also putting healthworkers at risk.

“We will not yet consider the need to evacuate but we are developing a range of contingency plans to see where our staff are best located,” Salama added.

“If WHO and its partners had to leave North Kivu...we would have grave concerns that this outbreak would not be able to be well controlled in the coming weeks or months.”

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours